Sound a shophar: to announce to them that they should repent before the evil befalls them.

the day of the Lord: which we mentioned above.

2A day of darkness and gloom, a day of cloud and thick darkness, like the dawn spread over the mountains; a numerous and mighty people, the like of which has never been, and after it there shall be no more until the years of the generations.

like the dawn, spread over the mountains: The increasing locusts and the shearing locusts are spread over the mountains as the dawn is spread over the entire world.

the like of which has never been: that all these species should come one after the other, but the species of arbeh alone did not equal that of Egypt, concerning which it is stated: (Exodus 10:14) “And after it there shall not be so.”

3Fire consumes before it and a flame blazes after it; before it, the land was like the Garden of Eden, and in its wake is a desert wasteland; neither does it have a remnant.

and upon the swords: Heb. וּבְעַד הַשֶּׁלַח, (verse 9) “through the windows (בְּעַד הַח ַלוֹנִים).” Upon the weapons they fall and camp.

they do not receive monetary gain: Heb. לֹא יִבְצָעוּ. They do not receive monetary gain. And Jonathan interpreted it (הַשֶּׁלַח) as an expression of an errand. Because of the errand of the Holy One, blessed be He, they cast themselves down, and they do not receive monetary gain.

9In the city they clatter; they run on the wall; they go up into the houses; through the windows they come like a thief.

In the city they clatter: Heb. יָשֹׁקּוּ. This is an expression of making a din. Cf. (Isa. 33:4) “like the roaring (כְּמַשַּׁק) of the cisterns” ; (Prov. 28: 15) “A growling (שּׁוֹקֵק) bear” ; (Zeph. 2:9) “the clattering of (מִמְשַׁק) the thorns.” Jonathan, however, renders it as an expression of arms (נֶשֶק). They are armed.

10Before it the earth quakes, the heavens tremble; the sun and moon darken, and the stars withdraw their shining.

assemble the elders: Heb. קִבְצוּ. This is of the form of (I Kings 18:19) “Send and gather (קְבֹץ) for me,” an expression which is weak and light.

17Between the porch and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep, and let them say, "O Lord, have pity on Your people, and do not make Your heritage a derision, for nations to make them an example. Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?' "

And the Lord was zealous for His land: Heb. וַיְקַנֵּא, an expression similar to (Num. 11:29) “Are you zealous (הַמְקַנֵּא) for me?” Their distress entered His heart, and He fought their battle and engaged in their necessities. Our Sages explain it as an expression of warning. He warned the locusts concerning His land. [from Sotah 3a]

19And the Lord replied and said to His people: Behold I send you the corn, the must, and the oil, and you shall be sated by it, and I will no longer make you a derision among the nations.

derision: Heb. חֶרְפָּה, a derision, that they will call you ill- provided.

20And the northerner I will distance from you, and I will drive him to a land barren and desolate; its face to the eastern sea and its end to the western sea, and its stench shall ascend and its ill savor shall ascend, for it did great things.

And the northerner: Heb. הַצְּפוֹנִי. This can be interpreted as referring to the host of locusts, upon which the expression, “and I will drive him to a land barren and desolate,” fits aptly. Another explanation: The people that come from the north, viz., the kings of Assyria. And our Sages (Sukkah 52a) state: This is the temptation, which is hidden (צָפוּן) in a person’s heart.

the western sea: the eastern sea. And our Sages, who interpreted it [i.e., הַצְּפוֹנִי] as a reference to temptation, interpreted these two seas as the First Temple and the Second Temple. I.e, they explain הַקַּדְמוֹנִי as first and הָאַחֲרוֹן as last. And so they explained it: Because he directed his face toward the First Temple and the Second Temple and destroyed them. [God says: I will drive him out to a land barren and desolate, where he will find no one to incite. That will be because he set his sights for the First Temple and for the Second Temple and, because he incited the people to sin, they were destroyed. The two Temples, where everyone would gather during the three Pilgrimage Festivals, are symbolized by the sea, where water of the streams gather.] And, according to the Targum , who explains it as a reference to the king of Assyria, we must explain “his face to the eastern sea, and his end to the western sea” to mean that part of his army I will send to the east and part of it to the west.

its ill savor: Heb. צַחֲנָתוֹ. The word בָאְשוֹ, its stench, indicates concerning that it is an expression of filth.

for it did great things: I.e, it did a great evil, for it stretched forth its hands upon the great.

21Have no fear, O land; rejoice and jubilate, for the Lord has performed great things.

22Fear not, O beasts of the field, for the dwelling places of the wilderness have become covered with grass, for the trees have borne their fruit, the fig tree and the vine have given forth their strength.

23And the children of Zion, rejoice and jubilate with the Lord your God, for He gave you the teacher for justification, and He brought down for you rain, the early rain and the late rain in the first month.

the teacher for justification: Heb. מוֹרֶה. Your prophets who teach you to return to Me, in order to justify you.

the early rain and the late rain.: Heb. מוֹרֶה, like (Deut. 11:14) “the early rain (יוֹרֶה) and the late rain (וּמַלְקוֹש).”

in the first month: In Nissan. Although the early rain is the first rain, which falls on the seeds, and that is in Marcheshvan, that year they sowed in Nissan, as is explained in Tractate Taanith (5a) that the grain grew in eleven days.

24And the granaries shall be filled with grain, and the vats shall roar with must and oil.